


TURNING; around me

by MariposaMonarca



Category: Powerpuff Girls
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-13 14:00:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28529592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MariposaMonarca/pseuds/MariposaMonarca
Summary: In Brick's head there was no room for anything but his one and only love: Pompeii and Herculaneum. He was in love with those cities that relationships seemed like something he would never experience, yet every time he went to enjoy his study at the library, he found Blossom an interesting presence to observe and study.
Relationships: Brick/Blossom Utonium
Kudos: 20





	1. OO

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [DANDO VUELTAS a mi alrededor](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/737250) by Mariposa Monarca. 



> This story is based on the song "Marutsuke", the ending of the anime 'Given'. I recommend you to see the anime, I'm not a Japanese animated series fan, but this one caught me from the first second and the soundtrack that it has, I was quite crazy about it, so I decided to write this story. 
> 
> I remind you that English is not my first language, if you find any spelling or grammatical mistakes, please let me know.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 寂しさは凶器だ  
> 人を傷つけてしまうそれに気付けなくなる  
> 愛しさは病気だ胸が苦しくなるよ  
> 治し方はないんだ
> 
> Loneliness is a madness  
> that ends up hurting people without them noticing.  
> Love is a disease that makes your chest hurt.  
> There is still no cure

There was something that Brick loved from time immemorial, he never said it out loud, but for those around him who shared a conversation with him, they would know that it was about love, not being a part of it, but enjoying that feeling as a mere spectator. One of his favorite pleasures was the love disasters of his brothers, but more so those of Butch, oh yes, especially those of Butch, is that, as he was very dumb, everything was funny even if it was not. While Boomer was telling him how good he seemed to be doing with a girl -what was her name? Bean? He doesn't remember anymore, it was so irrelevant that it really doesn't matter - even if it was all in vain because the girl had a boyfriend and he was the "lover", Butch only told them about his failed attempts to get to Kim, who kept rejecting him. Butch was a fool, he really believed he could get close to the Asian girl by letting himself be carried away by the racist stereotypes he found on the Internet.

Brick loved to listen to love stories, whether they were beautiful or disastrous, really, so much so that every time he had the opportunity to make a relationship happen, he would get rid of it, preferring to avoid love affairs. He found relationships very beautiful and tender when he wasn't involved, he avoided them and hoped he could keep doing that until at least he had achieved his closest goal. In addition, the thought of having to share valuable time with another person caused him to feel sluggish, and if he felt that way it was because of something.

Today, at the age of twenty-two, he was working part-time as a messenger for a cosmetics company. He was in charge of delivering products and transferring invoices that his bosses preferred not to send by mail, as there was a belief that hackers would be interested in knowing what other product they would bring out or which model they would ask to sign with them for the next campaign. Brick didn't care about that, to be honest, nor did he have an opinion, whether he thought it was ridiculous or not, he wasn't going to tell you. He liked to go to that job for only one reason: the local workers used to go up and down ruminating about things and he was a gossip who enjoyed them all. Most of them, the vast majority, were love rumors, the kind he liked. From the secretary whose boyfriend cheated on her, to the girl who was getting her first fucking date. He was already looking forward to what story he would find now.

Wearing his white T-shirt, his cap backwards and a pair of jeans, he entered the office, waiting to get his tools to do his job. The first thing he sees is that the receptionist's position is with two people, not counting her, and no, it wasn't a customer or someone looking for a job, but other local workers, Brick knew that from the badge they had hanging around their necks. He walked past them into the bathroom and into the box room, heard something as he walked by and also as he stood in the hallway before entering the box room.

“I just can't stand it," the young receptionist cried, "I'm only in my thirties”.

“Dear," said one of the women who accompanied her, "if he cheated on you, it's because he's a loser, you don't have to feel inferior”.

“Exactly," said the other, "he's the one who can't stay faithful and doesn't value you. That's what happened, he didn't value you. You're a lot of woman for such an idiot man”.

“Why do such obvious things have to be said when a relationship breaks up because of infidelity," Brick muttered to himself before entering the room.

That's another reason why Brick avoids relationships, they have an ending and sometimes it's not pretty. No, think about it, it's never pretty, at least for one of them. The pleasant and romantic beginning of a relationship is usually loaded with an infinite demonstration of fidelity and happiness, those with which you think and let yourself be convinced that you have found your true love, your soulmate, your connection with the insatiable and exploited legend of the red thread. Brick thought, as he rode his company bicycle to make his deliveries before leaving for college, that a feeling that promises so much happiness should not be tainted by the undesirable bitterness of the end. Why did it have to be like this? He knew and used to see such beautiful relationships on the streets, of course, some were just a disguise for the well-known and silent violence that existed, but imagining a break from that love that was projected seemed so pitiful to him. That was one of the main reasons why Brick preferred to stay out of relationships, and just enjoy them from the outside. It didn't hurt, there were no feelings involved. He was intact.

“Earth to Brick! Holy shit, bro! How much bachelorhood has left you deaf?”

Brick reacted to Boomer's call, blinking quickly and repeatedly before paying full attention to his surroundings. In his left hand he had an already cold piece of his brother's pizza, he realized he still had some food, waiting to be swallowed, in his mouth. He put the slice back on his plate and settled down on the wooden chair, while Butch laughed at him, trying to hide it by drinking some of the strawberry juice.

“It's incredible," continued the blond man, ignoring his older brother's apologies, "I only named the bachelorhood and your reaction was immediate”.

“I'm sorry," said Brick, this time in a higher tone of voice, "I was thinking about other things”.

“I guess not a girl," Butch said.

“Will that always be the topic of conversation between us? There are other things to worry about, come on," he snorted a bit. “You know very well that in my mind the word ‘relationship’ is written in graphite and it's almost completely erased”.

“Brother, forgive me for saying so, but you leave us no alternative. You don't seem to be leading a normal life, like a normal young man," Butch said. “I understand that you have goals to accomplish, we're not going to get into that, but you don't have fun with anything, you don't even go out with us. All your time is in your studies, your work and stuck in your room, working on that map”.

“You talk like a father, Butch, when did you get so old?” Brick defended himself. “Just as you find happiness and fun at parties and in the incessant tug-of-war of your relationships, I find it in learning more about archaeology, in working as a messenger and,” he looked at Butch, “working on the map of Pompeii which, in case you didn't know, corresponds to a real map of the places already recovered from the city, it also shows the sectors under reconstruction and maintenance. It is a city lost in time, a treasure for me”.

They remained silent for a moment. Brick was snorting again, it's just that giving those kinds of explanations bothered him like they had no idea. What was wrong with him not being interested in maintaining a relationship? Maybe it even meant a call from "destiny", which everyone used to allude to, as if it really meant a "work of destiny" for you to meet someone? No, okay, that might, maybe, make some sense, but to say that that person was "destined" for you is already spitting bullshit. It can't be your "destiny" if it ends in a breakup, as it did most of the time.

“Listen," Brick spoke again, "I don't want to think about romance. Let me make it clear to you, you couple of morons, that my only goal at the moment is to raise the necessary money that the university asks of me in order to take the trip of my dreams”.

“Research trip," Boomer corrected him, looking a bit annoyed.

“The fucking research trip of my dreams," replied the older one without looking away from the blonde. “Like my brothers, I want you to support me and respect my decision. Please, if it's not strictly necessary... No, better yet, if it doesn't come out of my mouth, I don't want any relationship mentioned again”.

Reluctantly, rather than seeming to give up, Boomer and Butch slowly nodded to the words of their brother, who looked at each of them, interspersed their glances to make sure they were paying attention. Brick didn't want to have a bad relationship with his brothers, they also knew that wouldn't happen, it's just that he didn't like to think that he was the brother who scolded the others, because he wasn't. Anyway, if there was no other way for them to understand his point of view, he had no choice but to take that attitude.

**.  
.**

His classes ended at about five in the afternoon, so he had until seven-thirty to study in the library, quietly and without having to worry about the commotion his two brothers would have on the floor.It's not like he had much to study, since he kept up to date, he only had to highlight the most relevant notes and that was it. He also wanted to take advantage of reading that article by the archaeologists who work in Pompeii, one where they talked about the paintings that were in the lupanar. Every time he read about that city, he felt a tingle in his stomach that, he remembers, he had felt when he started his last love affair - how long ago was it? Three years ago? Meh, it didn't matter now. If that meant he was falling in love with that city now, then he would admit it. The only relationship he would like to establish would be with Pompeii, with nothing and no one but that city.

Now, he didn't know if it was something he was doing consciously or unconsciously, but at an exact moment, he looked up from his materials and saw when a well-known redhead appeared in his field of vision, they didn't make contact for more than a second, she seemed to check if he was present or not, and as soon as she saw him, she turned her eyes away and didn't return in search of a new interaction, not even of looks. Blossom would sit down, put on her case, her rose-gold framed glasses and start reading. It was precisely that last point that had him so interested in her: he wanted to know what the hell it was that she read so much, or rather, what she was studying.

Because of the layout of the library, Brick could be sure that it wasn't any book of literature, of any kind, that section was in the 600 classification, it couldn't be medicine or any area of health either, that was in the 800 classification, everything related to mathematics was in another, more distant classification, and they were in the 200 and 300 classification, corresponding to History in general, either from the social area or the scientific area of social science, like archaeology, which is his area of study. So, what was she reading?

At first glance, it seemed to him that Blossom was the kind of person who would be interested in the study of history, a conclusion that was drawn from the above considerations, because he didn't think she was the type to be interested in archaeology, but what if she was? Well, let's say, if someone saw him on the street, they wouldn't think he was an archaeology scholar and was obsessed with a specific city either, so there was a possibility that the girl was studying archaeology, but why didn't he ever see her in class? Would she be a year above him? Or below him? Blossom arranged her hair behind her ear, then her glasses and raised the book a little.

He looked more closely at the book she had, it's not as if they were very far from each other, just two tables, if he sharpened his eyes he could find the title. The color of the background was dark, giving brown tints, it had the illustration of some animals, he squinted a little and read with attention: "Protomammals and mammals", the girl made a page change, so he had to wait for her to retake the reading position. "Mesozoic", that was the other word, thus leaving the title as "Protomammals and Mesozoic Mammals", but it had something else written, it was about the location where the research was done, the lettering was smaller than the main title. He settled down better in the chair, leaned forward, trying to look like he was studying, looked at the other tables, the few people present, who were no more than five people besides him and Blossom, were minding their own business as if to think of even paying a little attention to it, as if it were something more relevant. He leaned over and was able to distinguish three words, the first and the last were longer and started with a capital letter: S and A respectively, and concluded that it was South America.

“What is it that you are studying," he muttered to himself, "Geology? Palaeontology? Wow, what an extreme girl”.

He sighed deeply and again paid attention to his studies, to his own affairs. Pompeii called him, that was more important than finding out what was consuming Blossom Utonium's time.


	2. O1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> この日々は奇跡だでも何かが足りない  
> 埋まらない 空欄
> 
> 君は 不思議だその存在が僕を強くも 弱くもする
> 
> This day is a miracle, but there is something that is not enough.  
> There is an empty space.
> 
> You are strange, your presence makes me stronger or weaker...

His teacher gave him some pictures of Pompeii, where it showed the streets of that time and certain houses that were still standing. In his head, an idea passed that made him smile genuinely: what would it have been like to walk those streets with your partner? Suddenly, he moved completely to Pompeii, trying to recreate in his mind the noises produced by the carts going to the market, the sound of the birds and the steps produced by walking on the roads that connected the city to each other. He would have liked to distinguish some kind of aroma, but he could only imagine the smell of humid earth and, perhaps, some fruit.

He walks quietly, looks with complete normality at the buildings that are reconstructed after the earthquake that hit the city, thinks about going to the market, or approaching the wall to enjoy a walk on the beach or thinking about traveling to Herculaneum and enjoying in his own flesh what it is to walk around the Roman fishing city. He had many fantasies understood in those cities, with a greater preference for Pompeii, he was still not clear why.

The love and interest he had for archaeology far outweighed his desire to have a relationship, that is, all the time he would be investing in a relationship, he could dedicate to his academic research and thus he would not feel it was in vain. At least, the end of his research could give way to another one and so on, but ending a relationship could trigger bad moments and he really didn't want to be tied to that kind of thing.

And the image of the redhead brought him back to reality, to the space-time that was taking place in the city's public library. Blossom would sit in her usual place, look at him out of the corner of her eye and start her own business. Sometimes he wondered why she was in that library and not in her own university library, although the same could be true for him and the answer perhaps even coincided: there are more varieties in the public library, besides the fact that the lending of material is better facilitated, something that is extremely necessary when it comes to research.

She was a student at Townsville University, while he was studying at Cityville University, rival universities by nature, and the truth is that Cityville students were very upset with Townsville's after the latter's disputed victory in the previous championship basketball game. Yes, something completely ridiculous, but that's how it was, and the truth is that Brick was among that group of students, not only because he felt "his ego was damaged" or something like that, but because that bastard Boomer was a student at Townsville University and they made a bet on that game. Only an idiot like him would think of betting that much money. From there he learned that gambling was never going to be his thing.

So his eyes were on the redhead, while she was studying, he was studying her. He analyzed each part: bangs, hair color, hair length, pin, blouse, dress, accessories, skin color, freckles, hand movements, types of pens she used. Hell, he'd be lying if he said he was looking at her just because of some stupid thing like resentment of the outcome of that game. The truth was different, completely different, Brick thought Blossom was cute, very cute. He liked to watch her, he could tell that she would wrinkle her nose sometimes, make funny gestures with her mouth, as if she had some discomfort between her teeth, smile a little before scoring some notes. She was cute, beautiful, all the positive adjectives that could be going through his head at that moment.

However, there was one truth, and that was that any hint of a relationship was ruled out, completely, because he was not interested in being part of a play where he played the role of the idiot who expresses his one-sided feelings, feelings that only surface thanks to the physical appearance of "his beloved''. No, it was a line he wasn't willing to cross, and he hoped no one would either, not for him, at least.

He closed his eyes for a moment, took a big breath of air and decided that he had had enough of the bullshit, that he better concentrate on his work, otherwise he would be left without the possibility of publishing his work in the next issue of his university's social science magazine. Once he was settled, he took his pen, but wanted to take one last look at Blossom. Big mistake.She was looking back at him, with an expression that was difficult to interpret; he looked both ways, then looked back at her, shrugged his shoulders trying to look imposing, but he only managed to get her to smile at him, but he kept on frowning.

“What a girl," he said to himself.

**.  
.**

The fun on Friday for his brothers was to go to a club and drink with their friends and classmates, that way they also expected to have a good time in pleasant company. For Brick, his Friday fun was to go to the museum, at the exclusive opening of the new archaeological exhibition, one that featured artifacts brought directly from Pompeii and Herculaneum. As you can imagine, it was an exhibition Brick would not miss. He prepared early, carrying his Cityville University badge, his ID, his notebook and his favorite black ink pen to take as many notes as possible.

A month had already passed since the last publication of the social science magazine, where he proudly boasted the publication of his first article, one of a qualitative nature that was guided by one of his professors who had the same taste for Pompeii and the Roman ruins as he did. I could not say that it was a resounding success, but it was an important step for the academic life that Brick wanted to form, so he could prove to himself that a past cannot determine your future if you don't want it to.

He was there, walking around and taking photos and notes on the pieces of rock that had paintings engraved on them, as well as pots and types of coins used in Roman times. He didn't know how to describe the excitement of being there; so close to the knowledge that intoxicated him, so far away, too, from the cities to which they belonged. Attentively, he observed one of the photographs of the paintings inside the lupanar, he read the inscriptions, he had to know what they meant, anyway, if you knew what a lupanar was, you would easily understand what the paintings were about, although they were quite explicit, you could draw conclusions at first sight.

“Can you imagine what it must have meant to pay to enter that place?” He turned around after the shock of that female voice. Blossom was standing next to her, staring at the painting. “You paid for the wine, didn't you?”

Even in the craziest fantasies he would not have imagined that Blossom would approach him at that moment. Come on, what could it be? It was a pretty peculiar coincidence, I could understand if it was a paleontological exhibition, or that it was in that section, but that wasn't the fucking case.

“I read your article," she continued, once looking at him and smiling. “I was surprised that you published, actually, but it was great, quite interesting. It was an introductory work, wasn't it?”

Brick blinked a couple of times quickly, shook his head and caused a little laugh from the girl. He felt a little embarrassed, but he didn't have time for a moment of remorse about it, the girl was waiting for an answer from her own mouth.

“Ah, yes," he finally said.

She smiled at him, seemed proud to get an answer from him, while he did everything he could to make it clear how uncomfortable he was with the situation. Neither of them made any effort to talk, and that only added to the tension of the moment. Even though there were more people around, Brick only focused on the space they both shared.

“Don't you find that fascinating?” She was breaking the ice again.

“Yes”.

“I am struck by how creative they were, even in those days," she laughs as she rubs her bare arms.

“Uh”.

“Don't you find that curious?”

“No”.

“Come on, how communicative”.

“I'm sorry”.

Blossom realized that Brick wasn't comfortable and that she was only interested in generating some kind of communication between them. She sought his gaze, but he was elusive, he didn't seem to have any intention of looking at her over the image he projected. She bowed her head and snorted, which caught Brick's attention, who looked at her with something she interpreted as disdain.

“Excuse me," she said, Brick frowned in confusion.

“Why?”

“I'll leave you alone”.

Without giving him more than a small smile, Blossom walked away from him, followed by Brick's confused stare. The girl walked at a quick pace, soon disappearing from his field of vision. He scratched his jaw, then thought perhaps she had become uncomfortable with his monosyllabic responses.

“Maybe I've been rude," he spoke softly, but shrugged his shoulders and moved on to the next station. “Well, it's not like I really wanted to talk to her either. Come on, we're in the museum”.

As he moved into the next room, there were photographs trying to reconstruct the buildings, all using digital programs, as well as a video showing the events that occurred on the day Vesuvius exploded. His gaze seemed to be playing around in the surroundings and not precisely in search of some inscription or some artifact that he had not seen or known about, in fact, he was in search of a red hair that might be fluttering around.

“My goodness!” he heard the exclamation of an older teacher.

He turned his attention to the video, where the tremors were already beginning. His attention returned to his beloved city in ruins, the tingling in his stomach increased as he saw the smoke coming out of the volcano, especially when everything began to burn. Of course he regretted the lives that that disaster took, he was not disheartened or a murderer, but the truth is that it caused him some joy to see how a city has been stopped in time by such a terrible accident. Someone's throaty voice caught his attention and by inertia he looked in the direction, noticing that it was Blossom, located about five meters behind him. She looked at him, smiled at him shrugging her shoulders, he raised his head slightly, but again paid attention to the video, pulled a little bit of his black shirt collar and swallowed saliva.

“Why should I be so nervous? I don't know myself," thought Brick.

When the exhibition was over, Brick talked to a lot of academics at his university, especially Professor Malatesta, who was in charge of arranging the exhibition and the visit in advance before it was opened to the public. With that in mind, what was Blossom doing there? She wasn't a student at Cityville University, and although Townsville University was also invited, she doesn't study archaeology. She wanted to believe that it was due to a kind of outreach for the discipline. Yes, that must have been it. Wait a minute, why the fuck did it matter.

“Jojo," Professor Malatesta spoke, his Italian accent was quite recognizable, "we hope you can meet the expectations, not only for yourself, but also for the university. The Cityville house of studies will have a very good record if you can continue with research in graduate school, as it has with colleagues from other disciplines”.

“I'm excited about this whole thing," Brick said, and while he was smiling, his tone of voice didn't sound animated or enthusiastic.

“But you're a very capable kid," interrupted the older teacher who was close to him when they saw the video, Professor May. “Look at that article you wrote that exceeded even your guidance teacher's expectations, and that man is a pain in the ass”.

“Brick!”

The scream baffled the academics and Brick, especially Brick, since he was the one being referred to. He turned his head, frowned strangely, how many times had he done it before? And the redheaded girl waved her arm in farewell, a gesture he slowly reciprocated, only waving his hand.

“See you at the library, eh!”

“Fuck," he muttered and ran that hand across his face, then he looked back at the laughing girl as if she had done some mischief.

That she said that to him left a strange and unexpected feeling in the pit of his stomach; it looked like the feeling that knowledge and discoveries related to the city of his loves caused him. Love, for precisely that, would it be possible that the mischievous smile and the rising and falling of his shoulders could mean...? No, of course not.

“A friend?” asked Professor May.

“No," he was quick to answer, "let's just say she's a simple acquaintance. Well, Professor, what were you saying?”

“Right, well, as I was saying, the teacher who guided you…”

Professor May continued to speak, but Brick wasn't paying attention, he turned his head slightly to look again in the direction of Blossom, who he could no longer place anywhere. She was already gone, that was for sure, there was no doubt about it. What did cause the boy's intrigue was: Why did the heart rate increase just by remembering the encounters of that day? Had he been seeing her in the library, was it because he was nervous about engaging in some kind of communication?

Brick Jojo wanted to believe it was.


	3. O2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 優しさは積み木だ  
> 積み上げれば高くなる  
> だけれど 脆くもなる
> 
> 正しさは正義だ  
> だけど人は踏み外す  
> それを救うのは何?
> 
> Kindness is like building blocks,  
> the more you stack, the higher it will be.  
> But it will become weaker.
> 
> Doing the right thing is justice,  
> but people walk away from it.  
> What are they trying to save?

Blossom Utonium, at times, was portrayed as a girl with an admirable intelligence, however, she also fought for the position to the most stupid of the entire university. A girl so pretty and graceful should have a boyfriend who was worth her time and effort, not a pest who behaved like a possessive shithead, incapable of considering that his girlfriend had the right to relate to more people without having him by her side. She didn't need a bodyguard, she didn't need someone to control her life, but the guy she had as a boyfriend did, all because he felt he had the right to do so, just because he was her partner.

When Brick realized who Blossom's boyfriend was, he understood why she attended that night of the show.

Her boyfriend was a guy with a nasty personality. He was his college roommate, yet they only coincided in the language class, since in all the others, they took different classes. Let's see, he looked at you from head to toe, he boasted a smile with perfectly aligned teeth thanks to the use of a dental appliance when he was a child, you would think he was someone who hated everything when, in reality, he was just a fake who wanted to get the attention of those around him. He seemed to care a lot about appearances, and of course, his obnoxious family did. Maybe they only shared one class, but for Brick, that hour and a half meant hell itself, having to listen to his speeches only made him hate him more and more. And now it turns out that that idiot was Blossom's boyfriend!

There was an academic meeting going on with some outstanding students, and well, among them were Brick and her boyfriend. Jojo had no intention of interacting with him, so he stayed away from him, from everyone really, just waiting until ten o'clock and he could excuse himself and leave without any problems, so he would make an act of presence of one hour, more than enough and deserved, of course. He thought about approaching his teachers, after all, it has only been five minutes since it was nine o'clock at night, he had fifty-five minutes left before he left, however, they seemed to be in their world and if he approached them he would interrupt.

Out of the corner of his eye, he began to analyze the situations he saw around him. He wanted to take a closer look at Blossom's interactions with her boyfriend - what was his name again? - out of simple curiosity, nothing more than that, nothing less. He walked over to the table where the champagne glasses were, took a glass and drank the entire contents in less than two seconds; it only took one sip. He took another, moved it slowly making the liquid spin around inside the glass, then looked around and finally found Blossom and her boyfriend. She smiled, was being held by the waist, her boyfriend surrounded her and held her to him, as if she wanted to escape. Even though Blossom wanted to look happy, her smile didn't seem to be anything more than forced, her eyes didn't wrinkle, her eyebrows stayed still and she opened her mouth very little when she started laughing, compared to her partner, who opened his whole mouth, showing that he was enjoying the laughter.

“I didn't think you'd be this close to alcohol this early in the day," said Princess, stretching out her arm with elegant, shiny bracelets to grab one of the glasses next to her.

“My brothers and you are the ones who tell me the most that I must have a good time and that I must drink, can't you see that I am following the advice?” he replied and gave his friend a little smile.

“But champagne is not good for getting drunk, it doesn't fulfill our objective of making you spend a night under the influence of legal substances that make your body bad”.

“Yeah, you talk like a doctor”.

“I'm a medical student, what do you say, how do you want me to talk to you?”

They laughed for a few seconds, she drank the contents of her glass under the attentive gaze.

“And why do you drink if you know what it does wrong?”

“Because I fucking feel like it," she stuck out her tongue and turned to take two glasses. “Come on, toast with me before I go”.

“Going? Wait a minute," he answered when he got the drink, "Why are you here? You don't study in Cityville”.

“It's because I'm hitting on one of the guys who studies with you. Harry Pitt, you know him, don't you?”

“Of course I do," he nodded, "okay, well, good luck with your flirting”.

“I'll introduce you to him when the idiot thinks of making it official”.

“You could do it”.

“I love the way you think, Jojo," she winked at him, arranged her curly hair loose and gave him one last smile. “We'll see you some other time, okay?”

“See you”.

“Try to have a good time, at least for tonight”.

He didn't say anything back, just smiled and nodded slightly. That's usually how Brick was, every time he started being told he had to open up more to the world, he would sneer, roll his eyes and nod. They knew he wouldn't pay attention to them, but they knew he had at least listened to them. At that moment, Brick thought that if he had spent the night with Princess, he could have had a good night, not on some love plane, it was just that it was well commented, among the acquaintances they had in common, that the girl threw good parties, so much so that they lasted until the next day and could continue twelve hours later. He sighed, if only he really liked it, to join in and be part of the rampage.

He followed her with his eyes and saw the moment when she was received by the arms of Harry Pitt, who was still with his shaved head, his thin face and serious expression could make your hair stand on end, but seeing him smile, as he did when he saw Princess, could easily infect you with his happiness. They both looked good together, Princess giving that delicate look, being actually a little rough, while Pitt was just the opposite. He liked to watch them, the way she caressed his face with her thumb, then he kissed her hand, earning a slight punch for the shame she might have felt.

" _ How cute _ " thought Brick.

“My goodness," he exclaimed as he stopped to look at the clock on the side of the wall, "it's only been five minutes since I last saw the time”.

He was silent, and the ideas he had tried to avoid over and over again came to his mind. Why didn't he bring his brothers? Surely he would have had a better time, at least, the hour would not be so eternal, yet what would it have meant to bring any of his brothers? : Boomer would have been completely enraptured with his surroundings, he would have asked many questions, and that would not have been bad, Brick would have liked to explain and serve as a guide, the problem would be that Boomer calls the attention of anyone who sees him, with that innocent and even a little angelic expression, surely one of his classmates or even one of the academics would have stuck to him; On the other hand, Butch would be right next to the table, he would be able to get drunk with the champagne, or pretend to be drunk, so he would make scandalous scenes from pretending to be a boy with a broken heart or trying to transform that serious meeting into one of those scandalous parties he liked so much.

Luckily, he didn't take any of them with him.

He was starting to feel a little dizzy, and if he drank enough to play sick, it would be the perfect opportunity to leave with that excuse. Okay, he could do it, it was his chance, he wanted to go. He drank another drink without even taking a break to breathe. And he looked at Blossom, now, yes, he's assuming, he wanted to look at her for a while, maybe if he just looked at her and she noticed, he could pretend to be sick first and leave the party. Yeah, sure, it's all part of that plan, it's not like he really wanted to keep on prying, trying to interpret the kind of relationship she had with that guy... "That guy", God, is that he really doesn't even remember his name, the only thing he knows about him, is that he dislikes "the guy"... didn't he have any intention of linking himself more to the scientific side? What was he doing at that meeting then? Wait a minute, was archaeology part of the humanities faculty or part of the scientific area? Is it a science? A social science? He was already wandering around in his own head, it started to hurt and the light started to bother him.

When he opened his eyes again, after he had stabilized, he looked at Blossom again and noticed that she seemed to be leaving with a smile, that same strange smile he had seen at first. Why was she leaving? It seemed more like an escape, like she really didn't want to be in this place. Neither did he, but he hadn't taken the same initiative as she had. He saw her disappear, walking gracefully, making the purple blouse she was wearing dance a little over those tight white pants. Why was she running away? Would something have happened to her? But why was she smiling? And why did he want to go after her? He took a couple of clumsy steps, but was pulled by one of his classmates.

“Jojo! What's up, man! How come I just saw you?” said one of his classmates, he didn't feel like identifying which of the five around him was. “How long ago did you get here?”

It was too late to think about going after her, his classmates had grabbed him and were not going to let him go for a while, and even if the conversation was short, it was impossible for him to see where the girl had gone.

.  
.

It would be two weeks since that evening, and his days at the library no longer included the girl's presence. It's not like he cared, he could continue studying without any problem, but he still carried that image of her in his head, with that peculiar smile and that escape from the place. What had happened to him, he wanted to know, he really wanted to know, but how? They didn't speak to each other, and on the occasion when they crossed words, he was rude.

It was seven o'clock, he didn't want to stay there any longer, took his things and left the library. The weather was cold but not unpleasant or unbearable. He licked his lips and began to descend the concrete stairs leading to the street. To one side, by the left handrail, a lump could be seen, a person, leaning and in the shape of a ball, as if he wanted to hide. It was not his problem, he could easily pass by, but he would necessarily have to go by the left handrail, he would have to pass in front of that little ball of a person. Would it be bad if he was indifferent? He tried to put himself in that person's shoes, but it was difficult because he wasn't the kind of person who would do that. When he came to, he was in front of that person, he realized that the person had red hair just like his, he recognized the ribbon key ring that was hanging from that orange bag. His heart quickened, he scratched his neck, looked around and asked.

“Are you okay?”

For a moment, Brick thought she was sick, but the moment Blossom looked up, he realized she had been crying. He was surprised and scared when her lip seemed to tremble and break into a loud cry. People around them cast some curious glances at him and others charged with reproach.He shook his head, trying to show that he had nothing to do with the girl's crying, that he was not guilty, but it was difficult to realize that the scene could have varied interpretations.

“Hey…” he said, leaning a little towards her.

But Blossom seemed uncooperative, she was crying, her irritated eyes were closed, or maybe she opened them for a few seconds, unable to stay open; Brick was getting more and more nervous, the itch in his neck was noticeable, he was afraid of leaving marks with his nails. He pursed his lips, sighed loudly and thought of a quick proposal, maybe it could work, no, it should work.

“Would you like to go get a coffee? Tea? Ice cream, waffle? Whatever you want, I'll treat you," he said.

The truth is that Blossom stopped crying, covered her mouth and opened her eyes with some difficulty.Brick looked at him and nodded before pointing out the way, which he was going to take, with his thumb.

“I know one place for everything you'd like, something sweet would be ideal for the sorrows of the heart, wouldn't it?”

She nodded and muttered a "thank you”.

The ice cream shop was closer, they went in and got a table quickly. Brick just ordered a coffee, and told Blossom to order whatever she wanted, not to be embarrassed, so she ordered a glass of Neapolitan ice cream with dragon fruit. She seemed uncomfortable, so Brick thought that if he was the one initiating the conversation it would be good for her to get some confidence and therefore some calm.

“Have you ever wondered why they call it " dragon fruit "? It sounds like something legendary," he said and she looked at him.

“I haven't asked myself that, but I've always found it to be a sweet thing”.

“Okay," he nodded, "and do you like that fruit?”

“It's one of my favorites," she smiled.

“Well, enjoy your ice cream”.

“Thank you," she said as he was about to drink some of his coffee.

They remained silent, Blossom smiled every time she tasted her cup, he kept his eyes fixed on her every movement, especially on her smile. That was a smile, nothing compared to the one she showed that evening. He wanted to ask her, but he didn't know if it could be invasive or not, or something very direct, considering that they were not friends, just simple acquaintances who were now sitting at an ice cream shop table. He had never been to one before, at least not sitting down, let alone with a companion. He thought it was a date, but for pre-teens, not for college students.

“You look at me in such a curious way," Blossom says with a smile on her face as she fills her spoon with a new scoop of ice cream. “It's like you want to ask me something”.

“Can I?”

“Go ahead," she said before putting the spoon in her mouth.

“The truth is, I have two questions," he sat down in his chair and left the small empty cup on the table. “You choose how you answer me. First, on the evening of the university, of my faculty, why did you leave? And second, what was the reason for the crying today?”

Blossom, instead of setting the spoon aside as Brick had imagined it would, continued to pour herself another portion. He arched an eyebrow, watched attentively, thought that perhaps his questions were too direct, it also seemed to him that she made him look like a stalker, he understood that she had the right to answer him with irony, sarcasm or even throw the glass over his head, he would accept it, it just seemed a real mistake.

“How lucky that the questions are complementary,” she smiled at him, but her eyes didn't have that curve that showed true happiness, it was a conformable smile. “Well, okay, that day, that fucking evening, the faggot I had as a boyfriend forced me to go, even when we had broken up an hour before that event,” she licked her lips as she looked carefully at the ice cream she had in a new spoonful. “I had to go, but I was uncomfortable, so I excused myself by saying that I should call my sister Buttercup not to come and get me, since I was supposed to go with him," she sneered. “Obviously, as soon as I set foot outside that room, I got into the car, my sister had been waiting for me since the beginning of the evening. And if today you found me crying so disconsolate, it's because that son of a bitch called me on the phone to tell me that... that I would be back on my feet again,” her voice broke a little, “that he would be done screwing the girl on duty who had caught his eye before. He said he'd come back for me, but the truth is I don't know if I want him to do the same thing to me again. I'm the only one suffering from this whole situation”.

They were silent, she continued to eat ice cream, while Brick tried to process what Blossom had told him.

“It's like something out of fiction," he said.

“I know," she nodded, "but I wouldn't believe it either if I heard it. I'd think someone was telling me about some movie or some dramatic soap opera," she sighed, put the spoon down, sighed and nodded slowly. “But it's real, my pain is real too. He's done it to me so many times, I don't even know why it hurts anymore," she shrugged. “I should be a little used to it”.

“What?” interrupted an annoying Brick. “Did I hear right? Did you really say you should be used to it? Damn it, who has lied to you in such a way to make you think that's what you have to do? I mean, why are you waiting to go back to him?”

“Because several people say we look good together," answered a disconcerted Blossom who lowered her voice as she spoke.

“Ah," Brick leaned back on the back of his chair and ran his index finger down the tip of his nose, looked out at the street, then at the girl, "so if some asshole thought to tell you he'd like to see you paired with a killer you'd listen, is that it? Well, if so, I don't like the way you look with him. You make a horrible couple, he's a stinker who must surely smell like poo. Honestly, and forgive me if I offend you, you're a fool to keep waiting for him. He doesn't value you, I think that's obvious, but just because he doesn't, does that mean you shouldn't either?”

Blossom bowed her head. She did know everything Brick had told her, but to hear it from the mouth of another person, one with whom you have no social bond to relate to... She didn't like feeling inadequate, she didn't like having her standards lowered, but in that situation feeling inferior, receiving those words, only showed how badly she was, to the point where she hadn't wanted to accept it and now a stranger tells her everything she had tried to hide.

“What a bad feeling," said Brick.

“The truth is that I," she began to say, but the tapping of the glass interrupted any communicative intention. “Fuck…” she muttered when she saw who it was.

Brick looked out the window, but all he saw was a girl who had gotten confused on the sidewalk, he had seen her, yes, it was his classmate, Julie Bean, a girl with flashy, rowdy orange hair, lighter than Blossom's, she could easily be mistaken for a blond. She was not able to turn towards the entrance door because the green-haired jerk was already at their table, his face was red, it was too noticeable compared to how pale his skin was. Brick was waiting for him to look at him, but it seemed that the target of all his contempt was Blossom, her eyes did not reflect fear, but pain and shame; Jojo could tell that she was making an effort not to cry.

“I see you're getting over us pretty quickly, aren't you? I mean, you couldn't wait for me, you already had a son of a bitch here who takes you out for an ice cream, how pathetic," he mocked. “Didn't you find anything more childish?”

“Are you done yet, man? Will you go away?”

The boy turned to Brick, smiled at him with a certain instinct of superiority, but the truth is that he wanted to intimidate him and since Brick was sitting down, he thought it would be a good idea to lean over him and pull on his shirt, like the bully he pretended to be. Looking out of the corner of her eye, she realized that Julie had entered the ice cream shop, worried about the boy she arrived with.

“Bud, leave him,” Blossom ordered. “Leave him!”

“So that was his name," Brick said, looking at Blossom. “Bud, Bud Smith," he looked straight into Bud's eyes. “I never learned your name, but I happened to know it”.

“What do you want to play at, you son of a bitch?” Bud tugged at him.

“You better let me go, because you're not showing your "masculinity" in this whole scene, man, you don't intimidate me one bit. Have some respect for the public place we're in," he grabbed his wrists. Five seconds if you don't want to end up spraining your wrists, I'm not going to get violent in front of my new friend”.

“Of course," Bud scoffed, "your new friend? Don't pretend in front of me," he looked at Blossom. “Friends? Friends who fuck and then come over for ice cream? Ah," he glanced between him and her, staring at the latter again. “Is that how they pay you for your sex? With ice cream? Come on, Blossom, I thought you had a little more self-respect”.

“Self-respect? Smith, I told you to let me go, didn't you hear me?” and he started squeezing his wrists and bending them out, Bud started making a whimper. “Let go of me and I'll let you go”.

Bud listened, took a step back, Julie stood behind him and grabbed his shoulders. Blossom looked at Brick, who waved him to his feet. Jojo went to pay the bill directly at the cashier's desk, Blossom had stuck to him and that was really what he wanted. They got out as fast as they could, but Bud managed to come back and grab him by the shoulders.

“Now you're going to fuck again?”

“What the fuck is wrong with you? If you don't want me to really answer you with violence, get out of here. I'm not willing to let you give Blossom another hard time," Brick defended himself, shoving his hand on his chest. “She was crying for you, I couldn't just leave her there and make sure I didn't see anything. Maybe you don't feel attached, no way, you don't feel it because you look like you're playing the interesting guy when you're really a rotten-smelling guy”.

“And who the fuck do you think you are? Bud looked at Blossom. “What an interesting guy you've got yourself, you're not going to want to come back to me because you're going to fuck someone with a great mouth?”

“I don't believe anything," replied Brick, stretching his arm back to make Blossom hide there. “I'm not a good person, I don't like to establish social relationships and my only real hobby is studying every day about Pompeii and Herculaneum, but one thing I do know, and that is that Blossom is too much of a girl to be suffering for a shitty human being like you. Very pretty, intelligent, sociable, her company can be pretty freaking nice, and what are you?” he then looked at Julie. “Bean, I thought you'd have better tastes”.

“That's none of your business," Julie replied, "we're not friends for you to be giving me advice”.

“If you're either being the second course or the main course of this asshole, it's fine with me, I can see I'm not interested, you must be the same kind of pathetic”.

“Be very careful, don't talk about me that way,” Bud was threatening to attack Brick again, but he rolled his eyes, he realized that there were people attentive to the discussion.

“I hope you're not going to go back to this asshole." Brick turned back and looked into the eyes of a frightened Blossom. “I assume you're smarter than that”.

“Don't fucking ignore me!” exclaimed Bud, trying to grab Brick's neck again, but he turned back.

“How fast do you run?” Brick asked Blossom.

“Huh?”

Without saying anything else, he grabbed her wrist and started running through the city streets, dodging passersby as best he could. At no time did they let go of her grip, Brick was afraid that, through carelessness, he would let go and she would fall, he preferred to have a good enough grip, plus he made sure she wasn't taken away from him at that moment. It wasn't until they hit the entrance to the subway station that they stopped their walk, let go and each tried to catch their breath, Blossom put one hand on her chest, while Brick leaned on his knees, leaning forward.

“Why did we run?” she asks in a choppy voice.

“It was the only thing I could think of. I didn't want to get into a fistfight. And the truth is that just listening to him, I ended up disgusted and wanting to break his nose”.

They stepped aside so as not to interrupt access to the station, Brick avoided leaning on any kind of surface, Blossom stood in front of him. He knew he wanted to talk to him, but didn't know exactly what to say to him. Everything had been strange and hurried, even for her, but somehow Brick ended up involved in an unpleasant situation and treated her problem as his own, thus becoming part of his circle without necessarily being so.

“Brick”.

“I think the idea of going for an ice cream was pretty bad, but how could we even think that the moron would show up?”

“I'm sorry”.

“Don't apologize, it's not your fault. Does the subway work for you?”

“Yes”.

“Okay, I'll go with you…”

He couldn't finish the sentence, Blossom surrounded his body with her arms and hid her face in his chest. He stood still for a few seconds, then he put a hand on the girl's shoulder and heard her cry. It's not that he didn't know what to do at that moment, it's just that he thought they weren't that close, would it be okay if he comforted her? After all, he was able to defend her, but that's something he would do without necessarily being close to the other person. It was something he did without thinking, it didn't make sense that he would think now. He put his arms around the girl and listened to her cry, he kept silent so that she would unload everything she had inside. Perhaps how many emotions she was experiencing in that fleeting and tense moment, it would be good for her to vent.

“I'll walk you home," he said. “When you are ready, we will leave”.

“Thank you... thank you for so much, but I'm sorry, it still hurts," she said in tears.

Brick didn't respond with words, but with a gesture: leaning his head against hers.


	4. O3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 僕らはどうかな 上手いこと恋愛をできてるかな  
> どうかな どうかな  
> 答えもなく まるつけ  
> 僕らはどうかな ふたりで人生をやれるかな  
> どうかな どうかな
> 
> 願いを込め まるつけ
> 
> What about us? Can we have a proper romance?  
> I don't know.  
> Give me an answer.  
> What about us? Will we have a life together?  
> I don't know, I don't know.
> 
> Tell me what your wish is.

Brick Jojo's head used to be always full of two things: Pompeii and Herculaneum, however, now it has made way for a new division, one that has a first and last name, orange hair and an obsession for knowledge that could rather be compared to his own. Since the event with Bud, Brick used to look for Blossom, from making contact with her to meeting her at the library. If he didn't, if he didn't hear from her, he was worried; his biggest fear was not only the girl's emotional stability, it was also that she would return to Bud "Poop" Smith. To his relief, every time he thought about her, she appeared as she did that Tuesday, waiting for him in the library. He thought about her and Blossom walked in with her purse hanging from her shoulder, arranging a lock of hair behind her ear and looking for someone to look at. When he found him, Brick greeted him by raising his hand, Blossom smiled at him, didn't think for a second, and went over to him. It had become a habit to share a study table.

“How about it?" she greets him with a whisper.

“All right, and you?” answers Brick as he runs through some of his things so that Blossom would have the space she needed.

Although they didn't study the same discipline, they liked to think of themselves as research partners. Blossom was studying paleontology, he was studying archaeology, the library was their most common meeting place, but that didn't mean they didn't meet in other instances or in other contexts. It's been a while since that event that ended up making them friends. They had established a certain bond, in fact, Brick had even told her his intentions to go to Pompeii, also to Herculaneum, and Blossom asked him to tell her, in detail, why. He realized that, at that moment, she was avoiding talking about herself, perhaps it was her way of forgetting things and if so, Brick would respect.

After their study session that day, Brick, who didn't eat a single bite at lunch after being out late from his delivery, thought of asking the unfortunate boss to send an exclusive package to a girl who used to do makeup reviews. The problem was that she lived on the other side of town, it would take him about forty minutes, then he had to come back to change his clothes and go to school-, his stomach crunched, Blossom noticed and smiled, her pink eyes glowed and Brick's heart turned over.

“How about some burgers?”

It would sound strange to hear her say that, especially if they didn't know each other, but the reality between them had already changed, so Brick had no choice but to nod, because Blossom wouldn't let him go hungry. And the reality, now, is that they both considered themselves friends, that was the certain bond between them, they got along very well to their surprise. They walked the streets of the city in search of a fast food restaurant that wasn't so crowded. They found one and went inside, once they were located at a table, cornered by the wall, they enjoyed the food. As time went by, Blossom began to talk more and more, she was the one who always filled the silences that might form between them, and although the conversations were always directed to the area of their own disciplines, or to research itself, Brick had a question running through his head: Would there be a possibility that Blossom had returned to establish some kind of relationship with Poop? That question was always on the tip of his damn tongue, but it never came up, never did. It's been almost two months since "The Ice Cream Tragedy", but nobody wants to touch the subject, he didn't want to make her uncomfortable, and Blossom's reasons were unknown. That's why Brick was afraid. Could it be that she didn't tell him because she would say she had come back with him?

“...and then I realized something," she said before taking a short sip of her soda. “Can you guess what?”

“No, tell me”.

“That fellow researchers don't always have to be your friends. I love my guys, but, come on, working with them ends up slowing me down a lot, and time is precious to me. That's the way I get rid of people who are not compatible with me, and that's the way I get rid of nasty people. Those who left, who had only approached me to get some advantage, some benefit, can go straight to hell, hopefully not come back”.

“Disgusting people? All kinds, I hope”.

“All kinds, I assure you. Shit with shit," she winked, "and as far as I know, I'm not shit”.

Brick smiled broadly, leaned against the back of his chair, ran a hand through his hair and shook his little ponytail. He looked at the girl who was also smiling at him, but the movement of her eyes showed some uncertainty.

“What makes you so happy?”

“I can't explain," he answered, "I'm just happy you got the shit out of you”.

“Yeah, well," she sighed, reaching out to take his wrist, "I'm glad I can still have you by my side”.

The smile he had had was completely erased, his gaze remained on Blossom's hand holding his wrist. He swallowed his saliva, she laughed and broke the contact.

“Really, I'm just happy to have you, even if we're joining together under not-so-nice circumstances. Thank you for staying with me”.

“Don't thank me, you make it sound like a favor and it's not," Brick said. “Anyway, being by your side makes me feel at ease”.

“We're friends," she said, to which he nodded.

“Yes, friends”.

Did they just leave you in the friend-zone? Wait a minute, did he mind being in that zone? Is that why he's feeling a little disappointed? Blossom was going back to her food, he decided to do the same. He had become uncomfortable, it would be better to pretend and avoid.

**.  
.**

He tried to revive his love for Pompeii and Herculaneum by expanding the maps he possessed of both cities. He began to mark the areas where it was possible to visit and the places still under reconstruction and repair, the product of the passage of time, using the updated information from both archaeological parks. He stopped at a specific point on the map, the House of the Cryptoporticus, where the famous "Lovers of Pompeii" were found. He clenched his jaw and snorted, he was upset, just remembering the shitty movie they did with Pompeii, giving such a basic love story in every way, it was like a demon exploded inside him. It bothered him when the love stories in the movies fulfilled a certain cliché, it's not like it was bad, we all have a certain pattern that we like, the problem is that he felt that they didn't take advantage of it as much as they could, considering that it was taking place in a Roman city, not so rich -in comparison to Herculaneum- and that it was under reconstruction. All that, and the repetitive gladiator-princess circle ended up making him hate the film... Ah, also the end it had, where they kissed and were covered with ashes.

“Every time I see this picture, I remember how much you complained when it was proved that they were two men," said Boomer, who he had not heard come into his room, but was standing next to him and holding one of the plates he had on his bed. “I remember very well that you said," he cleared his throat, frowned and raised both arms, “‘Two men! That would have been a great story! Not the usual straight shit!’”

“Did I really say it like that?” laughed Brick.

“Oh, yeah," said Butch, who pushed his way through with a glass of strawberry juice. “Here you go, juice. Getting back to the subject, I think I would have liked to see a homosexual story set in the Roman Empire too... Fuck, what would it have been like?”

“Well, you could say that homosexuality was not badly seen," says Brick receiving the glass, "I mean, they were known as ‘sodomitical practices’, but the truth is that there were always rumors that great Roman military men and rulers were having homosexual relations. I don't remember any of them being about love, I think it was all related to the ways in which they made their ‘sexual release’, do you understand? I've never read about any love story," he looked at the poster Boomer was still holding in his hands, "and look what you have there, the perfect material, damn it," he sipped.

“Aw, Brick, your eyes sparkle when you mention love stories," Boomer said.

“It's amazing, isn't it? Bastard, you could have your own love story," Butch said, shaking his head, "but no, you're content to watch, loser”.

“But there could be an exception, right?” Boomer looked at Butch, who gave him that mocking smile and nodded before looking at Brick again.

“Could it be that Blossom…”

“I've shared enough with both of you today," he interrupted his brother, extended the empty glass to Butch and snatched the plate from Boomer, “now go away”.

“But why!” laughs Butch as he is pushed by Brick. “Come on!”

“It was a joke!” Boomer defends himself, also between laughs. “We know very well the dynamics between both of you!”

“Get out!” said Brick again until he closed the door to his room. He could still hear his brothers laughing.

They had already met Blossom, one day when he mistakenly believed that his brothers would not return until well into the night. One Friday they got bored of the library and Brick suggested that he go somewhere else to continue studying (she was teaching him some functional tips for writing articles in a more interactive way with the reader) and she told him she was curious to know where he lived, he gave in. Contrary to the ideas that might have crossed his mind when he saw and heard his brothers entering the residence, they greeted her enthusiastically and asked her if she had been offered something to eat, they were too hospitable to her, more so than Brick.

"My brother is very shy, Blossom!” exclaimed Boomer. “If you don't tell him you're hungry, he won't offer you anything”.

“He's never invited anyone, because he's an asocial, he doesn't know how to treat visitors," Butch added.

“Don't say that," said Blossom, "Brick is a great company. You should value him more”.

“I'm still here," said Brick as he collected his notes and cleared the table, all with a scowl.

“By the way, Blossom, I have a question for you," said Butch, trying to get serious, but that only caused Boomer to laugh at him. “Do you have sisters? I mean, who are as pretty as you are and who are single”.

Blossom laughed, covered her mouth, and squinted. Brick looked at her and concluded that this was nothing but pure happiness on the girl's part... She looked very pretty when she smiled or laughed.

"Yes, I do," Butch seemed to be excited, he didn't expect Blossom to keep talking to him and break any idealization that had gone through his head, "but they're too pretty to hang out with you, I'm sorry”.

Boomer and Brick laughed out loud, Blossom followed, while Butch folded his arms and shook his head in resignation.

Brick remembered that he thought Blossom's attitude had endeared him, but the truth was that this was just the beginning of realizing that there were several things he liked about her. I didn't want to say that it was the first time he felt attracted to someone, but I could tell that the intensity was a little different: he didn't want to be her boyfriend, not yet, however, he felt that he wanted to protect her because of how fragile she could be, even when she showed an impenetrable smile and happiness. He wanted to protect her, he wanted to be seeing that smile, and if, in order to do that, he had to always stay away, he would do it. He just wanted to see her happy, not be the cause of her happiness, he was far from it.

**.  
.**

It has been six months since they met and established a bond of friendship. They had known each other all that time, to the point where they knew what an afternoon/evening of fun could mean for each other. In this case, Blossom found out that a new exhibition of art and archaeology from South America would be mounted, along with the first discoveries made on the continent. She did nothing but tell him that and already had Brick pulling for her to buy tickets and go that same Thursday afternoon.

It was a great night for both of them, while Brick spent it taking pictures in all the places where he was allowed to do so, besides writing down the names of researchers and the objects recovered, Blossom was happy to take a picture of him, without him noticing. She liked to think that she could extort him later, but in reality, she wanted to keep that piece of Brick's happiness that she would have managed to immortalize with a simple photograph. She smiled to herself and continued to accompany Brick on his route of discovery through the museum. Until they reached the end, the craft area, the vessels that were carefully reconstructed, the colors correctly chosen for the materials found in the discovery areas.

“This is fucking great," Brick said to himself, but Blossom was able to listen. “Excuse me, I'll watch my language”.

“Don't worry," she smiled, "it doesn't bother me at all”.

“Thank you for letting me know about this exhibition. How can I ever repay you?”

Blossom thought about it, took her left index finger to her chin, Brick thought it was a nice gesture, very nice. In itself, he thought she was a nice girl... My goodness! Not only was she cute, she was more than that, however, it was hard for him to remember what kind of word could describe her at that moment. She smiled at him like a naughty girl who had just done something she shouldn't have done, and put both hands on her chest before talking to him:

“I'm hungry, let's get some waffles”.

She was always the one in charge of choosing the place where to eat, precisely because she seemed to have a palate that enjoyed the discovery of flavors and combinations, even if that could be seen in simple or fashionable foods. Brick was in charge of observing her, he needed to find out, in every detail of her facial expression, if she was smiling sincerely, or if there was any detail that showed she was still hurting. But the more he tried to decipher her, the more he realized he liked Blossom and couldn't stop thinking about it.

Arriving at the waffle store they had a little argument, because they both wanted to invite each other. Blossom suggested that they play rock, paper or scissors, she played the "magic wand" trick on him. Was that move even legal? Did it exist? He didn't know at the time, and by the time he was going to claim it, she had already figured out how to break through and start tidying up. She didn't ask him what he would want to enjoy, it's not like he had any idea what to choose, he'd better let her handle it, she had great taste when it came to food. He better look for an empty place, either in a bar, found a high table for two people, stuck to the wall, went over to her and waited for Blossom's glance that seemed to be writing something on her cell phone. A message came to him just as she was starting to look for him. He raised his hand and greeted her, she smiled at him and pointed to her cell phone, she was the one who had sent him the message. He listened, pulled his cell phone out of his black pants pocket and opened the message:

"Sweet or salty," that's all it said.

"Salty," he replied, looking at her again. Blossom, after reading the message, smiled at her and nodded.

He kept looking at her, smiling like an idiot, it gave him a bad feeling to always have to be attentive to her movements, but what could he do about it? He always considered himself a spectator and a gossip when it came to love, he was not used to being involved, that is the main reason why, perhaps, he did not dare to make any kind of move regarding her, to declare himself, at least, or to mention the remote possibility of having a relationship, even as an example in some conversation.

He was distracted by a message from Butch, to which he replied sharply and quickly, and didn't want to be interested in chatting with someone through some digital medium instead of waiting for Blossom. It might have sounded ridiculous and even unreasonable to Brick, and to be honest, he no longer conceived of what high-low reasoning was when it came to love interest, it's as if he had lost all his ability to show an obvious interest in it. How could he forget all kinds of information about building interesting love stories just by getting involved in one? At that moment, he realized that Blossom was laughing, still in line, with a boy who was behind her. Apparently she was apologizing, maybe she had stopped by to give him a ride. He, blond and tall, was smiling at her and waving, "don't worry" seemed to be telling her.

Quietly, attentive to their every move, Brick tried to imagine the beginning of a love story between the two of them. Several times it happens with an insta-love, with a simple little interaction. Why couldn't that interaction mean something? But Blossom had turned around and was now placing her order with the cashier, while the blonde guy was sending a text and didn't look too happy about it. He wanted to be on the lookout. Could it be that later, while waiting, they would interact again? Neither, they kept their distance, Blossom would occasionally tiptoe around to see if her order was already being prepared, while the boy continued to text with a scowl.

"Ah, well, they have no chemistry, they can't start any love story”. Imagine the relief he felt at that moment, and at the same time, try to explain to him why he is feeling that way.

Blossom's smile came back once she had her food in her hands, it got bigger when she saw him. He didn't realize he was reciprocating the gesture with almost the same intensity. After eating that, Blossom insisted that they needed to cleanse their palate, that is, if they were going to have a real feast, they would have to enjoy something sweet. "But we're not having a feast" Brick had told her, that only made her smile bigger and filled her with something like euphoria: "Because we haven't enjoyed something sweet" Blossom said, and she ended up dragging him around the food courts that were still open, even though it wasn't a Friday.

After a lot of soul-searching, they decided they would have a drink with tapioca pearls. This time, it was Brick who stepped forward and assured that he would pay for the drinks. Using the same tactic, he sent her a message asking her what flavor she wanted. It wasn't that full, maybe they were going to close, considering how late it was, after eight o'clock, Brick and the other girl behind him seemed to be the last customers of the night, there was nobody at the tables and chairs of the place, Blossom had stayed outside, it would be better if they enjoyed that drink while they went to the stations where they would take the transportation that would take them to their own homes.

“Thank you for preferring us," he heard the girl who handed him the drinks.

He bowed slightly as he quietly uttered a "thank you", turned on his heels and looked up at Blossom. Damn, really? That scene she was watching was real? No kidding? Bud had his back to her, but that messy green hair was hard to forget. He and Blossom seemed to be talking, rather, she was just listening, smiling with her eyes closed, as if she were faking a smile. Come on, were his eyes really not fooling him? Brick stands still, both drinks in his hands, he was watching the scene, he was kind of afraid to come closer, but why? It's not like he should hide, in fact, he had every right to break in and take Blossom away from Bud Smith's walking shit. Again he fixed his attention on her smile: it was not loving, by any means, nor was it friendly, it was the kind of smile you give someone just to avoid being rude. As soon as Brick decided to leave the store, Blossom leaned to the side, and he could see, once again, that smile that lately, she only dedicated to him.

“It was about time!” she said, going past Bud. “I was getting very thirsty”.

“This is yours, vanilla chocolate, like you said," Brick replied, smiling, already calm, and extended the glass of his right hand.

“I thank you," answers Blossom before taking the straw to her mouth and sipping.

“Ah," Bud's voice reaches out to them both, Brick frowned, while Blossom seemed indifferent to what Bud might say or think at the time, "so you're with him”.

“Yes," Blossom replied, "we walk together”.

“It's not new to anyone," added Brick, at that moment, as both Blossom and he interlocked their arms, "is there a problem, Smith?”

“No," he says, but then he sneers and looks at Blossom in an almost dismissive way. "I just think you're making a scene just to make me feel bad, uncomfortable”.

“Well, let me tell you, you've got your ego in a sling," says Brick before Blossom. "The fact that you think you're so important in our life that you think we're trying to make you feel bad is just amazing to me. Blossom and I don't go out everywhere just to hope we'll run into you, unfortunately, we go out in a small town, obviously we'll end up meeting. However, as I said, it's not to give you a hard time. Now, leave us alone”.

“See you later," chanted Blossom, in a mocking tone, and it was she who started walking, pulling Brick out of the way.

While she was acting totally normal, saying that the drink was delicious and expressing how much she loved tapioca, Brick was wondering why they had to meet up with Bud, why, if it was being a good evening. Why... Why is it that it left him with a sense of dread? Blossom didn't seem interested in him, the smile and attitude she showed wasn't the same as when he found her crying. Why was she afraid he would come back for her?

“Brick!” he heard the girl call out to him and tug at his arm to get him to react.

By the time he realized it, Blossom had taken a selfie.

“Huh?” he said, she laughed.

“We look very funny, only you, really”.

She showed him the photograph, he looked at it, while she smiled. It wasn't a bad picture, Brick was looking pretty good for a picture taken without his knowledge, however, he was just staring at her. He couldn't help it, he would always end up staring at her. Always, always, always.

“I'll publish it on instagram, do you mind?” She put away her cell phone and took her empty glass again to put it in the trash can.

“Not at all," Brick did the same as she did, "if you want, you can tag me”.

“It's done," she winked at him. “Well, I guess this is where we say goodbye for today”.

Brick looked around, they had been walking through the park under the cold light posts, evidently that's where they were near the subway station, as well as the bus that was taking him to his destination.

“Okay, I'll walk you to the station”.

“No, no, it's not necessary”.

“You sure?”

“Yes," she nodded, pretending to be tired, "are you not listening or what? Don't make me insist”.

“Okay, but let me know when you get there”.

“You too”.

They were silent, just nodding and laughing. They were both nervous, but Brick knew why he was nervous, he wanted to know why  _ she  _ was nervous.

“Thanks for getting Bud off my back," she said with a sigh of relief. “I owe you another one”.

“Don't say that, I didn't do you any favors. I did what the situation deserved," Brick agreed. “I'll always be there if you need me, but you seemed to have the situation under control anyway”.

“A little," she wrinkled her nose for a moment, "but the stinker didn't believe me when I told him I had company. As you can imagine, he threw out poisonous comments referring to me as a…”

“You don't have to say that," he interrupted, "it's better to forget about him, not to talk about him. That's what he wants, we shouldn't give him the fucking pleasure. We'd better go home now before it's too late. Remember that tomorrow is Friday, we have classes”.

“Goodbye, Brick," she said, nodding and approaching him. “See you tomorrow”.

To his surprise, Blossom left him a long kiss on the cheek, in addition to giving him a careful thumb stroke. She smiled at him as she drew a line from Brick's corner to the bottom of his lower lip, as if she were sending him some kind of hint. They looked at each other for two seconds, Blossom muttered an almost inaudible "goodbye" and began to walk away, at a slow pace. But she didn't take more than two steps when Brick grabbed her by the arm, abruptly stopping the route the girl was planning to take.

They meet again, face to face. Brick was being a victim of his own nervousness, Blossom, apparently, was enjoying that moment, her eyes filled with a glow, it was as if she had been waiting for him. Brick took a big breath of air and broke the distance between them. Suddenly, the memory of what the kiss between those two men who were found in Pompeii would have been like appeared in his head, he didn't understand why, it wasn't as if it had been proven that they both had a loving relationship, however, at that precise moment, it didn't matter, he just wanted to put himself in the role that the situation deserved. What did you feel when you kissed each other? Was it long or short?

“Brick?” she asked.

It was the only thing she could say, after she realized that he intended to kiss her. Blossom didn't put up any obstacles, in fact, she was totally willing to receive the kiss.

“What will it feel like?" Brick wondered again. "How will it feel to kiss the person you love so much for the first time?”

What Blossom felt when Brick kissed her was:  _ warmth, happiness, excitement. _

What Brick felt when he kissed Blossom was: _ love. _


	5. OX

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 人生は天気だ晴れたり降られたりする  
> どちらも起こりうる
> 
> どうかな 傘なら僕が持っておくから  
> ふたりでひとつになろう?
> 
> Life is like the weather, it can be sunny or rainy,  
> Either can happen.
> 
> It doesn't matter if you don't have an umbrella, I have one.  
> Let's be just one?

Brick ran both hands over his face, water continued to drip down his back, taking with it the last traces of soap left on him. He sighed heavily and ended his shower. He didn't usually take them this late, but today he would have a day off from his job as a delivery man, so showering at about eleven o'clock in the morning was a whim he would only have when the conditions were right. He wrapped the white towel around his waist, wiped the mist off the mirror and saw his reflection, wet after he dried his face, ran his hands over the area again, he didn't have to shave yet, he had already brushed his teeth. He was simply looking at his reflection carefully, without showing any emotion, until shame invaded him, covered his face and denied repeatedly with his head.

"I kissed her," he muttered, then he cleared his eyes, noticed that his face was red, "I kissed her, I kissed her!"

How could that be a problem? You may ask. Well, yes, there is a problem, because they didn't say anything to each other after they separated. They just looked at each other, that's all they did. Blossom smiled slightly at him, bowed her head and went quickly to the subway station. He didn't know anything about her, just that she got home safely, all through the sober message she sent him: "I got home safely". She didn't used to be like that, so why did she take that attitude now? He thought maybe it wasn't a good decision, it wasn't the right time. He felt like the kind of man who should be exposed to everyone for not respecting her and kissing her without her consent.

"Fuck," he sighed, passing his hands over her face again. "I'm an idiot".

Now that he finally confirmed and could say out loud that he likes Blossom, it turns out he's afraid that it's all gone to shit because of the impulse from the night before.

"Now I'm going to become a pathetic man who suffers for love".

**.  
.**

One week. One week has passed since that event. One week where they had not communicated with each other. On Brick's part, it wasn't that I didn't intend to talk to her, I mean, what he wanted most at that time, and all the times he had free, was to send her a message, ask her how she was doing and if she had anything to say to him, however, his free time during that week was divided between early morning, the time he took to move projects forward, the limited time he had for lunch before going to class after work, and almost midnight, when he decided to call it a day. He has been very busy, he has not even been able to go to the library, because between talks, conferences and the fact that he had started the research project with which he would apply to make the research trip to Pompeii, his time was reduced, very reduced.

Until one day, when he had a fucking hour off, he went to the library not only to look for a book that would be necessary for him to formulate his work methodology, but also to see if Blossom had gone there. She looked around, stayed for fifteen minutes, that was the time she used to show up, however, there was no trace of her. She hated herself, clicked her tongue and decided to leave.

All contact between them had gone to shit, all after he had kissed her.

"I think I owe her an apology," he said to his brothers.

Boomer and Butch had listened to the entire explanation, which was somewhat brief and with an obvious suppression of details that were not very relevant, such as the meeting with Bud, keeping the most important part of his story, so he sought help from the two who always presumed to have more experience and understanding in relationship matters than he did. The moment they looked at him with an obvious intention of upsetting him, he doubted how good his decision was to let them know about his dilemma.

"I didn't think this day would come," Butch chants, "Brick, I'm proud".

"Butch, come on, let's have a selfie, we must frame this day," Boomer continued.

"What sons of bitches," complains Brick, "don't you understand? It's a serious matter, I finally listen to you guys about having a relationship and all you do is make fun of me".

They both laugh, Brick had already lost any patience. He stood up, he was going to his room, but Boomer grabs his hand and stops him. He was still laughing, but the intensity of his laughter had already subsided.

"Brick," says the blond, "but do you really like her? I mean, do you really feel it? Do you like Blossom?"

He was silent for a moment. He didn't feel so comfortable saying it out loud, in fact, it still seemed strange to him. The tingling and those annoying feelings came over him, making him think that he was reliving all those love stories that were so secure in his heart, like a good lover of them. He took a big breath and slowly nodded his head.

"Yes, I like Blossom, and I like her a lot. That's why I'm telling you, I feel like I did something wrong and I don't want to lose her".

"Boy, I feel like you're drowning in a glass of water," says Butch, he walked over to Brick and ran a hand over his shoulders. "Don't you realize that the solution to all this is simple?"

"I don't understand," admits Brick.

"Fuck, weren't you the smartest?" Brick elbows him." Brick, the answer is communication. You send her a message, wait for her response and make some fucking space in that busy schedule of yours to see her and talk to her about the situation, then you apologize, confess that you did it out of impulse, and because you obviously like it".

Boomer and Brick, especially the latter, had listened to him carefully, he sounded like a real expert. Butch smiled contentedly, tapped his brother on the shoulder and broke the contact. He shrugged his shoulders, and being speechless with his brothers brought him some joy. He never expected Boomer to start laughing at him.

"If you can give that kind of advice, how come your relationships always end in failure?" asks Brick, crossing his arms.

"Shut up," Butch defended himself.

**.  
** **.**

"Blossom, how are you? I need to talk to you, could we meet one day? You decide when. Please, I need to see you", that was the message he sent her. And Blossom's answer came, three days later, but it came.

"Hi! Sorry, I've been too busy with college stuff :( I'm dying to eat at the restaurant on the dock, the one with two floors. Can we meet there on Friday at eight?"

Obviously Brick's answer was yes, he looked up what kind of restaurant Blossom was referring to, it wasn't hard to find out, Boomer was the one who told him its name and that, really, it was the only one with two floors, he couldn't get lost or confused, that would just be classic Butch. There were two days left until Friday, and even more hours for the one she set. He was nervous, horribly nervous. All the love stories that he had enjoyed at some point went through his mind, because he knew quite a few and didn't like them all, and for the first time he understood what it felt like to be in one of them. It is not the same, as a mere spectator, to wait for the characters to meet, to be the character that must go to the meeting. I would be in the restaurant, it sounded very cliché just to remember that it was a restaurant where they could enjoy a privileged view while sharing a plate of food and a conversation.

Those nerves and anxiety about the arrival of that day, increased after that Friday, he finished his academic day and was in his room choosing the right clothes for the occasion. It was still cold, but the imminent arrival of June reminded him that the cold was going to end, as well as his academic year. But the semester could wait that night, the only thing that mattered to him, now, as incredible as it may seem to him, is Blossom. I just wanted to give Blossom a proper apology and show her a good time. Also, he was thinking about confessing his feelings for her, it wasn't worth denying them or hiding them, that kiss gave him away too much.

He thought, for a moment, that the encounter would be burdened with some tension, however, it was not like that. Blossom smiled at him as always, kissed his cheek and dragged him, intertwining his arms, until getting some table. They ordered their food, she excused herself saying that on Fridays she did not respect any type of diet, this being a lie because she has never gone on a diet, while he leaned towards something lighter since sleeping with a heavy stomach caused him nightmares.

"Don't you think this is a great place? I saw a review about it on instagram, so I got excited, I needed to come to this place," said the girl before taking the drink in front of her. "And obviously, company was paramount at this point".

"Oh, so you were hoping to share this moment with me," joked Brick.

"Of course," she was emphatic and took a sip, and Brick was left with his fork halfway through.

He left the silverware on the plate. That statement had taken him by complete surprise. He was waiting for an opportunity to apologize, but it seemed that that opportunity would not come. She looked at him and laughed, tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and cut off a piece of salmon to bring it to her mouth so she could savor that salty morsel.

"To all this," she said, wiping the corners of her mouth, "I think it's time for me to make a complaint".

"A complaint?"

"First, before that, I want to apologize for not having notified anything about me nor having spoken to you during this time, it's that, I swear I have an explanation, I am working on a project, that is, in my university seminar, my professor was notified about the discovery of a new fossil in South America, then, the professor said that they will only let five students go, to whom we will present the best report, with a clear methodology and the appropriate bibliography, so I have been working on it all this week, so I apologize".

"No, no," said Brick, "don't apologize. Let me congratulate you on your determination to do this work".

"Today I will get the result via email," she continued. "Congratulate me when I am accepted."

"Of course I will, I'll even take you to a place to celebrate".

"As I was saying," it seems she ignored the last thing Brick said, "I'd like to make a complaint".

"And why would that be?"

"How come you didn't send me any messages? Were you so busy too?"

"Well, actually, yes," he scratched his neck. "I'm not trying to justify myself or anything, it's not worth it at this point, but the truth is that just as you were doing everything to get a pass to a field trip, I did everything to prepare myself properly. I will travel to Pompeii and Herculaneum in two weeks," Blossom covered her mouth.

"Seriously?" she asked, Brick nodded. "That's great news, I congratulate you!"

"Thank you very much, to be honest, I'm looking forward to this trip".

"You deserve it, you must send me photos and reports daily, will you go with other of your companions?"

"Luckily yes, with two of the guys I get along best. Luckily, your ex-boyfriend is not among those selected," he scoffed, Blossom rolled her eyes.

"You don't have to remind me of the existence of that idiot, it's not worth it".

"Can I know what you saw in him?" Blossom wrinkled her nose a bit, looked into his eyes and slowly shook her head.

"I don't know, I guess I was struck by that 'bad boy' attitude he was bragging about".

" _Bad boy_ ," Brick sneered, "are you living in a cliché or what?"

"Maybe".

They remained silent, Blossom's countenance did not change, she looked at him with tenderness and enthusiasm at the same time, while he did everything so that it would not be noticed that he was nervous, very nervous.

"I'm sorry I didn't write to you," he said, "but I... I didn't know what to tell you".

"Of course," replied Blossom, taking the glass again and waving it gently back and forth, "you didn't know what to tell me. You kiss me and then you pretend you don't. Simple, isn't it?"

Brick seemed to have a discomfort in his throat, coughed slowly and pulled on the collar of his black T-shirt, as he did every time he felt exposed.

"I apologize for that," he stammered at the end, Blossom laughing tenderly.

"I hope you're apologizing for not talking to me and not for kissing me".

Brick didn't respond, he looked down at his plate while Blossom kept her eyes on him. That's when she noticed the blush on his face, she couldn't help but smile.

"To be honest," she continued, "I've been waiting for you to kiss me for a while, so how much longer would it take?"

"Huh?" He looked at her again. "Did you want me to kiss you?"

"Of course I did," he shrugged, " she was trying to make Brick nervous. It's what you expect the guy you like to do, it's not crazy".

"And why didn't you take the initiative?"

"I thought it would be more interesting if it came from you".

They stared for a moment, then laughed to release the tension they had been experiencing. Brick relays his lips, a sign of anxiety, his heart seems to be beating in his throat. He swallows and is sure the gesture was visible. He fixed his eyes on hers, which seemed to be waiting to hear what he was about to release.

"I like you," Brick said, she smiled, her eyes seemed to lengthen, her corners expanded. A sincere smile.

"I like you too, Brick. It's no secret to anyone".

Love and relationships, for Brick, had meant a safe space inside his mind where he let his imagination run wild, thinking of perfect scenarios to live a love story, the beginning of two people, he always thought that love stories developed in older times were more valued than those in some current context, all the relationships he ever knew ended with a break because of the little freedom for leisure left by society. He had cursed himself 'for not having been born in Herculaneum or Pompeii and having enjoyed the love of the time, however, considering and seeing his present panorama, especially the beautiful girl in front of him, the same one who now took his hand and let him caress her with his thumb, would not have been alive in his same scenario, they would have never met.

Blossom was unique and perfect in her way, she made him feel with greater intensity what he had considered dead inside him. He wanted to tell everyone, but observed that it would not be very wise of him to do so, he was afraid that all the illusion of the moment would vanish. Perhaps these were his suppositions, but it was better for him to take that into account and follow his intuition. What was certain was that the smile he had at the time gave him away to anyone who witnessed the moment they were both sharing.

Their meeting was interrupted by the time limit she had set for herself. The life of an academic was complicated, she wanted to prepare some material already, that was what she was telling Brick, while he was telling her not to worry, that he understood her and that they were in the same scenario, he also had to leave the introduction of an article ready for the last lecture that he had to close before undertaking his academic journey.

"We can see each other again," Brick told Blossom, who seemed really upset that the appointment had ended there. "I'll always be available to see you," to his surprise, Blossom pointed to him with her thin index finger.

"Don't even think about asking me to be your girlfriend, not right now".

"Eh?" he wondered.

"We'd better wait until all the trips we plan to take are done, academically speaking, and then we can start the relationship. It won't be great to spend the first few days apart".

"You're so sure we're going to be together," Brick said in a mocking tone, to hide his current nervousness. This seemed to be more than he was used to.

"Your face says you're dying for it," she said, leaning her back against the back of the chair, Brick could have sworn he crossed one leg over the other.

"The bill, sir," said the waitress, arriving at the exact moment. Brick was grateful that the brunette girl showed up, saved him from a moment where words would play tricks on him and Blossom would end up rejoicing in that triumph in front of him.

"Maybe," thought Brick anyway.

On the way out, Blossom was wearing her brown coat, while Brick was only wearing a thin gray coat that Boomer insisted he wear. However, Blossom had something he didn't: an umbrella. One of the last drizzles of the winter had begun to fall and Brick was completely unprotected at the time.

"Did you bring an umbrella?" she asked, holding hers up to him, who was the only one getting the water directly in his face.

"It wasn't drizzling when I left the house," Brick says in her defense, Blossom laughs with a certain mocking tone.

"Oh, Brick, that's common sense. The sky was reddish and it was windy... Plus, it was mentioned on TV, and your phone might have a weather widget too".

Needless to say, Blossom approached him, placed the umbrella between them and started walking in the direction of the subway station which was not as far as you might think. Walking in that position was very uncomfortable, no matter how romantic it seems, it's uncomfortable, especially when there's a difference in height. They had their arms intertwined, the umbrella in the middle, but Brick tried to lean it towards her, he didn't want her to catch a cold, he didn't usually get sick so there was no problem, but he remembers well that, at the time, Blossom told him how easy it was for her to catch one.

He thought nerves might play tricks on him, but at the time, he didn't feel any discomfort. He was comfortable, very comfortable. Blossom was very warm in every way, expressing herself and keeping a smile on her face, she showed it with facts. The drizzle, which seemed to be getting a little more intense, no longer seemed to be an impediment to them staying on the streets and enjoying the moment more than ever.

"Can I ask you a question?" he said.

"Of course".

"I... Do you really like me?"

"Are you really asking?" Blossom's tone of voice showed how upset she was. "Brick, why?"

"I'm sorry, it's just that..."

"Are you that insecure?"

"Maybe," he looked at the road, knowing she was looking at him with a scowl.

"Brick, I've literally been following you ever since I saw your looks. You noticed my presence before I did, after that, I was the one who wanted to be noticed. When I realized that you were elusive," I laugh, "I think I became more interested in you".

"So it wasn't just a coincidence that we met at the library?" he was amazed, very amazed.

"The first two times, yes. After the third time, I was standing at the same table on purpose," she said as she smiled and looked forward. "I couldn't describe, at the time, how much I wanted to be there, but I did know that I wanted you to look at me. I liked you and I didn't want to assume that I was stuck with an idiot," she looked at him and smiled. "And now here we are, we just confessed how we feel and we have to separate on academic matters".

"Putting it that way, I think it would have been better not to have told us anything".

"Don't be anxious," Blossom gave him a little squeeze on his arm before bending over to look at the road, as there was less to go on. "We'll keep communicating, that's obvious. That is, I hope you won't forget to send me a message," she said in a mocking tone, "because you might as well forget after you've kissed me".

"I thought you'd let it go".

"Well, no, I'll hold that against you now".

They stopped the passage once they were on the corner of the street, to the side so as not to interrupt the passage of the passers-by, but at that hour and in that climate, there was not so much movement. Brick let go of his grip and extended the umbrella, in its entirety, to her, who was looking at him with some doubt. He looked nervous, as if he were in trouble, frowning slightly and avoiding eye contact with her. Blossom then extended her hand to him, specifically her cheek, and forced him to look at her.

"Are you aware of the expression you have now?"

"That's why I was avoiding your gaze," he confesses.

"Are you afraid?" he shrugs, she insists, "of what?"

"It's the first time I've found myself this way," he answers at the end.

"We'll see each other when you come back. Remember that there is a possibility that I will leave too, but well, that's something we still don't know for sure. I promise you that my feelings are not going to change".

"Ah! Don't say that!" complained Brick, covering his face.

"Why?"

"The atmosphere feels very corny, almost like a love story".

"And what is this we are living through, a horror story?"

"You're not understanding me," he covered his face, he was embarrassed. "I'm not very familiar with saying or receiving cheesy things".

"Now I feel more like filling you with corny messages, what a good mechanism of torture you have given me".

"No, please," as he said this, Blossom took a step back, covered her mouth, and was laughing. "Don't laugh!"

"I can't help it! I really liked you!"

After saying that, she dropped the umbrella and pounced on it, wrapped her arms around his neck, he received her. It was a very dynamic and warm kiss, if you take into account that the drizzle was still present, stronger than when they left the restaurant and that the cold wind has not stopped and would not stop for at least a couple of hours.

"When we get back," said Brick, assuming that Blossom's trip would take place, "we'll make the decision".

"I've made it," she said over his lips. "I like you, man, I like you a lot. Don't doubt it at any time, I don't even think about it anymore. What are you afraid of?"

"I don't know".

"Then, while you don't know, don't worry about it," she gave him another short kiss. "Do you think I would be with you like this, under a drizzle, if I didn't like you?"

"This is very cliché".

"Now shut up and kiss me some more 'before the bells ring to tell us to leave,' _Cinderella_ ," she said, causing the boy to laugh and the girl to clear her brow.

He left a kiss on her forehead, caressed her lips with his thumb and watched them carefully for a couple of seconds.

"What's the worst that could happen," he thought, and kissed her again. "I'll think about that later.

_the end_


End file.
